Unrest has arisen in Goirle, Riel and Tilburg about child molesters who are allegedly active there. The police received three reports about this in the past week, but could find no evidence. Concerned parents are now warning others on social media, but the police are not happy with that. “This causes unnecessary unrest,” explains spokesperson Rob Luijten.
The first report came to the police on Monday. A child in Riel told his parents that he had been asked to get in by two men in a dark car. A few days later something similar happened in Goirle. Then two men in a white van offered a child money to get in with them.
“This indicates that people are starting to see ghosts.”
The police took the reports seriously and started an investigation. Meanwhile, one of the parents wrote about the incident with the white van on Facebook. That was subsequently shared more than 80 times. “And then the speculations started,” says Luijten. Because that same day another report came in, this time from Oisterwijk.
“Someone had seen two young men near a black van pointing at a house. He wondered whether that could have something to do with the child molesters,” says Luijten. “And that indicates that people are starting to see ghosts.”
Many parents react indignantly to a message that the police share about this on Facebook. “We are actually happy that this is being shared. Not to get scared, but to draw attention to this again and therefore be more alert,” Marielly writes. And Amanda says: “I’d rather be warned three times too much than once too little.” Jose agrees with the police: “Warn the children and pay attention yourself. But don’t organize a witch hunt.”
That’s exactly what the police are afraid of. “In the past, something like this would be shared in the neighborhood and people would pay attention to it on the street. But with social media, this has become unprecedented,” says Luijten. “In this way, anyone who meets the descriptions is given the cold shoulder. We want to prevent someone from addressing a child in a friendly manner and immediately appearing on social media. It could be your father.”
“These are serious reports and we do not simply ignore them.”
The police are still investigating the first two reports, from Goirle and Riel. For example, camera images of the area are viewed and the names of the vans are checked. This way, the police can see whether the suspects are linked to previous crimes. “These are serious reports and we do not simply ignore them,” the spokesperson said.